Car top carrier



Dec. 10, 1963 N. J. BEssETTE CAR TOP CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed 00T.. 26, 1961 INVENTOR.

NORMAN J. BESSETTE @www ATTORNEYS N. J. BESSETTE CAR TOP CARRIER Dec. 10, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 0G15. 26. 1961 INVENTOR.

J. BESSETTE NORMAN BY ww www@ @Mw mf ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,113,819 CAR TOP CAREER Norman lf. Rossetto, 26d Vine St., Pawtucket, Ball. Filed ct. 26, 195i, Se". No. llilz 2 Claims. Ci. Einw-323i) This invention relates to a car top carrier.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a car top carrier which may be a complete unit in itself adaptable to be mounted upon the top of an automobile.

Another object of the invention is to provide a car top carrier which will be or" good storage capacity and which may be easily handled for loading and discharging.

A more specilic object of the invention is to provide a car top carrier comprising a casing and a drawer which may be withdrawn from the casing and supported in a position alongside of the automobile in substantially a vertical attitude so that the contents thereof may be easily removed from the drawer.

Another object of the invention is to so arrange the drawer that in removing the same or positioning the drawer for movement into the casing in which it houses, it will be somewhat counterbalanced about a pivotal arrangement.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FGURE l is a perspective view showing a portion of an automobile with the car top carrier of this invention mounted thereon and in a position for loading or discharge;

FlGURE 2 is a sectional view on substantially line 2--2 of FlG. 3 and on substantially larger scale of a fragmental portion of the carrier illustrating the drawer as positioned within the casing and one of the tracks in end view with its associated parts;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the carrier on substantially line 3-3 of l-ilG. l with the drav er in housed position; and

FIGURE, 4 is a sectional View of the carrier similar to FIGURE 3 but with the drawer in an intermediate position being partially swung to its discharge position.

ln proceeding with this invention, l have provided a casing which is generally rectangular and has an open side, and i have mounted tracks or rails on the end walls of the casing which tracks will slide outwardly through the open side. A drawer is slidac-ly and pivotally mounted on these tracks so that it may be slid into the casing through the open side, or when withdrawn to a certain position, it may be swung from a horizontal to a vertical position. The front of the drawer serves as a closure for the open side of the casing.

With reference to the drawings, the casing is designated generally l@ and the drawer which is housed therein is designated generally ll. This casing consists essentially of forward and rear end walls l2 which are arched as at 13 to provide foot portions ld. A shoe l5 is pivotally mounted as at l5 on each foot id and carries a cross bar lo upon which two suction cups i7 and are mounted while at the other end of the shoe, the third suction cup 19 is provided. By reason of this rockably mounted shoe, the suction cups may be adjusted to the convex curvature of the automobile `top Ztl. A top wall Zi of sheet metal extends from one end orn wall l2 to the other end of wall 2@ and is continued and bent downward bulging outwardly as at 212 so as to provide a rounded and finished end. Ribs 28 may be formed in the top wall for stiifening the same. A bottom 23 is provided extending between the end walls l2 which is flanged as at 2,4 and secured to the end walls by some fastening 2S. One side of the casing 3,ll3,l9 Patented Dee., l0, 1963 "ice is closed by any suitable wall such as 26 while the other side of the casing 27 is open.

At spaced locations such as shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, wheels 3@ are mounted on fixed axles 3l which extend inwardly from the inner surface 32 of the forward and rear end walls l2 (see FlG. 2), The wheels 30 on the end walls l2 are located at a denite distance from the closed side wail 26, while the other wheels 3d are located adjacent the open end Z7 of the casing. These wheels support tracks 33, each of which is generally S-shaped in cross section presenting an outwardly opening groove and an inwardly opening groove 35, each with extending toward its mid portion. The outwardly opening groove 34 is uppermost of the tracks and receives the rollers El@ and 3d so as to slidably support the track for movement generally parallel to the inner surface 32 of each end wall. A spring 36 is attached to an eye 37 located at the inner end or" the track, while this spring is attached to an eye 3S on the side wall l2 and tends to pull track outwardly through the open side 2.7 of the casing.

The drawer designated generally ll has opposite forward and rear walls Lidwhich are generally parallel to the forward and rear end walls l2. lThe bottom of the drawer 4l connects the forward and rear walls dit of the drawer, while there is an inner side wall 42 extending between the forward and rear walls lill and an outer side wall which is of such shape and size that it forms a closure for the open side 27 of the casing. Suitable partitions i5 and 4o may be located within the walls just described to divide up the carrying Volume of the drawer,

The front and rear wal-ls di) of the drawer each have a wheel i7 mounted thereon at the same distance from th inner side wall and at a distance nearer the inner side wall d2 than the outer side wall i3 to so weight the drawer that the outer side will tend to swing downwardly about the location of these wheels as a pivot. .Each of these wheels i7 is mounted upon an axle id` (see FIG. 2) fixed in its forward or rear Wall dit at this definite location, and in practice l have found that the distance of this axle d@ should be about two thirds of the distance from the outer side wall to the inner side wall 42 or two thirds of the distance from the leading end of the drawer to the trailing end Ithereof as it is withdrawn. These two wheels 417, one on each wall of the drawer, are received in the lower groove 3S of the track and will, when the drawer is in a horizontal position substantially in the plane of the rails, permit the drawer to be rolled along the tracks into the case. The drawer must be swung up from the position shown in FGURES l and 4 to substantally this horizonal position before it is slid into the case and before the rails are pushed into the case, and this is done by lifting the drawer by means of the handle i9 manually in order to do this. The fact that approximately one tlurd of the drawer is mounted opposite the pivotal roller d'7 from the lifting handle i9 assists in partially balancing the outer or forward part of the drawer in this swinging movement. As soon as the drawer is lifted to the horizontal position, it may be started into the case and the wheel 5d mounted at the upper end of the drawer may engage the undersurface 5l of the top 2l so as to roll therealong. As the drawer is moved into the case, inclined brackets 52 will engage the opposite end walls 40 of the drawer to center it in the case.

At the forward lower edge of the drawer, there will be sockets 5d extending outwardly from the ends 49 of the drawer and the edges of these sockets will be flared as at 55 so as to receive the ends 56 of the rail. After the drawer is lifted to horizontal position and rolled on the roller 47 along the tracks, the sockets will receive and engage the ends of the tracks and then, as the drawer is pushed in, the tracks will be moved inwardly along their rollers 30 and 30 until the drawer reaches its completely housed position at which point the front or outer side wall 43 of the drawer will provide a complete closure for the opening 27 of the casing.

Upon each of the ends 12 of the casing, a rod 60 is mounted by means of some bolts and spacers si, and these rods 60 will project through openings 62 in the outer side wall L13 of the drawer. Each rod is provided with an opening therethrough which will receive a padlock 63 for llocking the drawer against unauthorized Withdrawal. When the drawer is completely housed as shown in FIGURE 3, the tension spring 35 wili be under tension and in stretch condition as shown in 151G- URB 3. Brackets 53 of L shape on the forward and rear walls of the drawer will pass beneath rods and will prevent the drawer from being swung to a vertical position until the drawer is moved clear o the case.

It will be apparent that in order to withdraw the drawer from the casing that the paalocks will 'oe removed, and then by engaging handle lll-9, the drawer may be pulled out of the casing and the tracks will also follow the drawer out of the casing by reason or" the springs 3o contracting to pull the tracks along out of the casing as the drawer is drawn out of the casing. Should the operator tend to swing the drawer down, the roller 50 will enOage the top 21 and it will permit movement without too great a drag therealong, while near the completion of withdrawal brackets 53 engaging rods 6u will serve the same purpose. When the tracks are pulled out to their full extent, the pin 37 which extends across the groove 33 in the track and also across the lower groove 35 in the track will engage the roller 3@ and act as a stop to prevent further withdrawal of the track. After this occurs, the drawer will then move relative of the track until its roller d'7 engages a bolt 65 which is positioned across the groove 35 of the track at which point the drawer will not be able to be moved further outwardly. This location, however, will be such that the trailing portion 66 of the drawer will swing clear of the casing so that it may be swung from a horizontal position through the intermediate position shown in PGURE 4 to the vertical position shown in FlGURE 1. This arrangement permits the drawer to be moved out far enough to completely clear the vehicle upon which it is mounted so that the drawer may hang vertically as shown in FIG- URE 1.

I claim:

1. A car top carrier comprising in combination:

(a) a casing having an open side and a pair of opposite i end walls with inner surfaces in generally vertical planes and a top wall,

(b) a track slidably mounted on each end wall for movement generally parallel with the inner surface thereof from within the casing through the open side thereof,

(c) a drawer of a size to be contained within said casing,

(d) sockets on said drawer to receive the ends of the track and support the drawer on the tracks and align the same therewith,

(e) means for pivotally and slidably mounting the drawer on said tanks for movement partially beyond the end of said tracks to disconnect the sockets therefrom and for pivoting when in such position from a position generally in line with the tracks to a position at right angles thereto,

() and a wheel at the upper inner end of the drawer to engage the top wall and roll therealong.

2. A car top carrier comprising in combination:

(a) a casing having an open side and a pair of opposite end walls with inner surfaces in generally vertical planes `and a top wall,

(b) a track slidably mounted on each end wall for movement generally parallel with the inner surface thereof from within the casing through the open side thereof,

(c) a drawer of a size to be contained within said casins,

(fl) sockets on said drawer to receive the ends of the track and support the drawer on the tracks and align the same therewith,

(e) means for pivotally and slidably mounting the drawer on said tracks for movement partially beyond the end of said tracks to disconnect the sockets therefrom and for pivoting when in such position from a position generally in line with the tracks to a position at right angles thereto.

References @ited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 321,078 Birckhead .lune 30, 1885 728,971 Pickard May 26, 1903 729,180 Hunter May 26, 1903 1,330,936 Erickson Feb. 17, 1920 2,201,354 Steadman May 21, 1940 2,752,219 Yonkers .lune 26, 1956 2,756,093 Boger July 24, 1956 

2. A CAR TOP CARRIER COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A) A CASING HAVING AN OPEN SIDE AND A PAIR OF OPPOSITE END WALLS WITH INNER SURFACES IN GENERALLY VERTICAL PLANES AND A TOP WALL, (B) A TRACK SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON EACH END WALL FOR MOVEMENT GENERALLY PARALLEL WITH THE INNER SURFACE THEREOF FROM WITHIN THE CASING THROUGH THE OPEN SIDE THEREOF, (C) A DRAWER OF A SIZE TO BE CONTAINED WITHIN SAID CASING, (D) SOCKETS ON SAID DRAWER TO RECEIVE THE ENDS OF THE TRACK AND SUPPORT THE DRAWER ON THE TRACKS AND ALIGN THE SAME THEREWITH, (E) MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY AND SLIDABLY MOUNTING THE DRAWER ON SAID TRACKS FOR MOVEMENT PARTIALLY BEYOND THE END OF SAID TRACKS TO DISCONNECT THE SOCKETS THEREFROM AND FOR PIVOTING WHEN IN SUCH POSITION FROM A POSITION GENERALLY IN LINE WITH THE TRACKS TO A POSITION AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO. 